Grooming Gangs Taskforce arrests hundreds in first year

In the past 12 months, the team of investigative experts and analysts have helped police forces arrest over 550 suspects, identify and protect over 4,000 victims and build strong cases to get justice for these horrific crimes.

Established by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in April 2023, the Grooming Gangs Taskforce of specialist officers has worked with all 43 police forces in England and Wales to support child sexual exploitation and clearance investigations.

Led by the National Council of Police Chiefs and supported by the National Crime Agency, the task force is a full-time operational police unit funded by the Home Office to improve the way police investigate care gangs and identify and protecting children from abuse. It consists of experienced and qualified officers and data analysts who have long-term and practical experience in the field to undertake investigations into care gangs.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

Where a child is abused, we must do everything possible to protect him and bring the perpetrators to justice.

This despicable crime can have a lasting impact on a child's life and I am delighted that in just one year, the hard work of the task forces together with the efforts of the local police has led to more than 550 arrests and help save thousands of other children. I thank everyone involved in this effort.

But we know we need to do more. Through our Criminal Justice Bill, we are protecting children better by requiring all professionals to report to the police where they fear abuse is taking place and by banning sex offenders from changing their names to avoid justice.

Yesterday (Monday 20 May), Home Secretary James Cleverly visited Essex Police where he spoke to the force's Child Sexual Exploitation teams who have seen their investigations supported by the task force over the past year.

More than 400 officers across the country have now been specially trained by the task force, with more to be mobilized over the coming months to root out child sex offenders. On his visit to Essex Police, the Home Secretary was able to witness first-hand a live training session of new recruits being trained in the specialist skills needed to work on child sexual abuse cases.

Minister for Victims and Protection Laura Farris said:

I am proud that the measures announced by this government just over a year ago to stamp out crimes committed by vigilante gangs have led to hundreds of arrests and the protection of over 4,000 victims.

We must continue to do more to support the police, putting technology and specialist training at the heart of our rigorous targeting of abusers who prey on vulnerable young people in the most horrific way. They must be brought to justice and face the full force of the law.

Central to the work of the working groups has been the development of a complex and organized database of child abuse, which provides forces with a stronger overview of data on the scale, risk, prevalence and characteristics of sexual exploitation of children. children in the group than ever before, helping the forces to deploy their resources locally in the most targeted way and to investigate without fear or favor about misplaced cultural sensitivities.

The taskforce has built strong engagement with a team of Crown Prosecution Service experts to build strong prosecution cases to put more criminals behind bars. It provides intelligence to the force to help identify and disrupt gang networks by partnering with the Organized Exploitation Program (TOEX) which provides cutting edge data and analysis to help the force identify suspects.

The taskforce has also established strong partnerships with hotels to raise awareness of the early warning signs of child sexual exploitation through Operation Makesafe.

Ian Critchley, NPCC's National Policing Lead for Child Protection and Child Abuse said:

Since the beginning of the working group, important steps have been taken to increase the response of the police to CSE investigation, as well as co-ordinating best practice and guidance to further protect victims and deter perpetrators, through working closely with forces such as Essex.

Unfortunately, we know this CSE in many forms it is still prevalent in our communities. How we listen to and support the victims and survivors of these most heinous crimes is key to building on and maintaining the progress we have already made through the work of CSE task force and dedicated force teams.

I hope this will reassure victims that when they make the difficult decision to report to the police, they will be treated with sensitivity and respect and with the utmost professionalism. We are committed and committed to bringing more offenders to justice for these horrific crimes, wherever and whenever they are committed and the taskforce is supporting the operations of forces across the country.

While it is important to acknowledge how far we have come, especially in the last 12 months, it is essential that we continue to learn and make changes to help inform and influence all our work, especially working alongside children's services and valued third sector partners in including the voice of victims and survivors in everything we do.

We are not standing still. It is the duty of everyone in different societies and communities to prevent these crimes that have a lifelong impact on the victims. We remain committed to ensuring we identify, protect and support victims and are committed to relentlessly pursuing offenders to bring them to justice.

Gabrielle Shaw, Chief Executive of the National Association for People Abused as Children (NAPAC) said:

At NAPAC, we are proud of the work that we and other third sector colleagues have done in integrating the voices and experiences of victims and survivors into CSE task force.

By listening and acting on this, national policing will create authentic and practical change that improves victims' and survivors' engagement with the justice system.

of CSE The work of the task forces is informed by NAPAC's unique body of research on what victims and survivors themselves want. This research shows that for a large proportion of survivors, a positive result does not necessarily equate to a criminal conviction. Many want to feel heard and believed, to stand up and be counted without entering the judicial process and without fear of judgment or re-traumatization.

We look forward to police forces across the country continuing their positive work with partners, such as third sector organisations, to understand and successfully achieve the outcomes that victims and survivors want.

These measures demonstrate governments' continued commitment to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report to protect children from harm and ensure that authorities never turn a blind eye to exploitation again and sexual abuse of children.

The Home Secretary is introducing a new legal requirement, through the government's flagship Criminal Justice Bill, for anyone who engages in child-related activities in England, including teachers and healthcare professionals, to make it compulsory to report if they know that a child is being sexually abused. Anyone who tries to prevent a mandated reporter from reporting known child sexual abuse can face prosecution and up to seven years in prison.

The Home Office has also provided £1.6 million in funding to the NSPCC's information helpline, as well as their public helpline, giving professionals and members of the public help to raise concerns about children in their community. Last year, public alert and helplines dealt with around 76,000 points of contact with over 40,000 referrals made to partner agencies, including the police and social services.

In addition, police are gaining greater powers to stop registered sex offenders from changing their name if they feel they still pose a risk to their communities, strengthening measures to ensure parents and carers have the information they need to keep children safe from offenders, and ensuring that members of care gangs face the harshest possible sentences for their crimes by introducing legislation through the Criminal Justice Bill to create a statutory aggravating factor for caring behavior.

We recognize the devastating effects that child sexual exploitation and abuse can have on victims and survivors and are committed to ensuring that specialist support is provided to help all victims and survivors rebuild and move forward with their lives. .

Our Support Fund for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (SVSCSA) (2022-2025) provides grants to up to 4.5 million voluntary sector organizations in England and Wales, providing nationally accessible support to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Ministry of Justice is also quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2025, from 41 million in 2010.